Spring
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Did Spring come early this year? Or late? For me, I don’t know. My mom got
sick, diagnosed in January, and that’s been hard. I’ve been up a few times.
We’v...
Pope Francis Has Left Us by La Civiltà Cattolica
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“The novel, literature, you see, reads the human heart. It helps us embrace
desire, splendor and misery. It is not theory. It is helpful for preaching
to...
Moms For Liberty University
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Moms For Liberty has a university! Sort of. If you use a really broad
definition of "university." Like even broader than the definition used by
Prager Univ...
Garfield High Senior Dead in Shooting in Yakima
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From the Seattle Times:
*An 18-year-old man died early Sunday after he was shot at a party, the
Yakima County Sheriff’s Office reported.*
*The suspect ...
Student Outcome Focused Governance is Impuissant
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By Thomas Ultican 4/21/2025 The night NPE2025 in Columbus ended; I ate
dinner with two ladies from Pittsburgh. They informed me about Student
Outcome Focus...
Poem: you
-
[Header Photo by Valkyrie Pierce on Unsplash] we looked under every rockfor
the youyou hid from us the you we never knewthe you forever blue every rock
you...
Poem: you
-
[Header Photo by Valkyrie Pierce on Unsplash] we looked under every rockfor
the youyou hid from us the you we never knewthe you forever blue every rock
you...
Incentives Against Phone Use in the Classroom
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Phone usage in the classroom has been linked to worsened academic outcomes. This
report presents findings from a field experiment conducted at a large
pu...
Next National Day of Protest: May 1
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As you think about the upcoming national protest against fascism in 2
weeks, please think about this:
@raskin.house.gov: “We learned from the last cent...
Do Schools Reform Society?
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Some time ago, I read an article on the New York Yankees’ baseball team.
The writer said: “Like religion, the game of baseball is founded on
aspirations ra...
What Is Happening is Not Normal.
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*What’s Happening Is Not Normal. America Needs an Uprising That Is Not
Normal.*
*David Brooks. Conservative columnist. NYT. *
https://www.nyti...
“IF YOU’VE EVER WONDERED…….
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“If you’ve wondered what you would have done if you’d lived in Nazi Germany
during Hitler’s rise to power, it’s what you are doing right now.” That’s
not t...
Rubby Peréz and The Ties That Bind Us All
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Let me take it back to 1994. I was in the seventh grade and, at the time,
my mom took our family to her first ...
Read More
The post Rubby Peréz and The...
Cold As Ice: Update #3, The Posse
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This series began with its first post February 4. Updates quickly followed:
#1 on February 6; #2 on February 9. Now we are ready for Update #3, the
deputiz...
Cold As Ice: Update #3, The Posse
-
This series began with its first post February 4. Updates quickly followed:
#1 on February 6; #2 on February 9. Now we are ready for Update #3, the
deputiz...
The Seamy Side of CTE
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Vocational education, now called Career Technical Education (CTE),
emphasizing STEM, has always been important for students who are not
college-bound or ...
A Veteran Teacher’s Thoughts about ADHD
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I can remember the first time I heard about ADHD. It was in the early
1990s—and the person who was educating me was the mother of one of my
students. His t...
A Story of Three Graduations
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I am finishing my eighth year teaching high school seniors. My
then-principal (now retired) approached me nine years ago about switching
from sophomore Eng...
Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL
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Eight years ago I began this regular feature where I share a few posts and
resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL or to language in general
that ...
Trump plays Putin’s Playbook
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Recently Aleksander Dugin was interviewed on CNN, last week, and he stated
that he believes Trump is closer ideologically to President Putin than to
Washin...
Risks of using AI in the classroom
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April 8, 2025 The annual conference of Network for Public Education, on
whose board I sit, was held last weekend in Columbus, Ohio. It was
terrific as usu...
¿Qué hace falta para que gane la resistencia?
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Una ola de resistencia se levanta. ¿Qué hará falta para que ganemos?
Dondequiera que miremos, una ola de resistencia se levanta. Mi corazón se
llena de ale...
Mike Shulman the ARISE UFT Judenrat
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I was surprised to learn that Mike Shulman has aligned himself with ARISE.
I previously supported him, advocating that the Castle Doctrine could have
bee...
Trump actually already can serve a third term
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and even a fourth and a fifth ….
so could Clinton, Bush 43, and Obama.
There are no limits on how many terms a President can serve
Here are the relevan...
How Do We Fight Trump?
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Dear Friends, I don’t know when and why it hit me. But I suddenly realized
how serious Trump is about changing the country into something that
horrifies. I...
March’s Parent Engagement Resources
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What does our research say about grades, attendance, test scores, & “on
track” metrics for @chipubschools.bsky.social students? How can parents use
this in...
Are we all on the same team?
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Copied from Quora; I didn’t write any of this… As an American I ask my
fellow Americans, why can’t you realize at the end of the day we are all on
the same...
Who is the new CEO of Teach For America?
-
From 1990 until 2013, the CEO of TFA was the founder, Wendy Kopp. Under her
leadership the program grew from a small organization that struggled to
make pa...
Site Index - Updated December 31, 2024
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When I was teaching,
I got tired of hearing how bad American educators were.
*My Promise *
WHEN I STARTED BLOGGING IN 2011, I said I planned to speak ...
Defining Productivity, Cost, and Efficiency
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Recycled material here… The central problem with US public schools is often
characterized as an efficiency problem. We spend a lot and don’t get much
for i...
Number 18 — A barely-hanging-on Blogoversary
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Blogoversary #18 SEPTEMBER 14, 2006 I started this blog while I was still
teaching, in 2006. I had just begun my 31st year as an educator. Just like
in pre...
Student "Growth" Measures Are STILL Biased
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This caught my attention:
New Jersey school districts may soon be evaluated differently, *with a
greater emphasis on student growth* as compared to stud...
AIN’T IT AWFUL
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As the terrible feelings of dread and angst spread across the world the
great majority of the American people feel powerless before the onslaught
of those ...
Vote NO on the UFT Contract. Here is Why:
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The best reason to vote no on this contract is this: UFT Unity* lied* to us
in 2018. They misrepresented that contract. It was predicated on deals we
wer...
Testimony to the CPS Truancy Task Force
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I prepared testimony for one of two public hearings held by the Chicago
Public Schools Truancy Task Force, a body mandated by state legislation.
The meetin...
There Is A Teacher Shortage.Not.
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THERE IS A TEACHER SHORTAGE. And just to be sure you understand, it’s not
that teachers don’t want to teach. It’s not that there aren’t enough
teachers cer...
Book Banning Turns to Dick and Jane
-
Breaking News: Dateline February 4, 2022 - Parents in Dimwitty, Alabama
have asked the Dimwitty Board of Education to ban the children's primer *Fun
with...
Have You Heard Has a New Website
-
TweetHave You Heard has a new website. Visit us at
www.haveyouheardpodcast.com to find our latest episodes and our entire
archive. And be sure to check out...
Follow me at Substack
-
I've moved. Follow me at Substack
I'm now posting regularly at Substack. You can subscribe for free to my new
Edu/Pol blog at michaelklonsky.substack.com
...
Aspiring Teachers Get New Help Paying For College
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[image: colorful classroom pattern]
*; Credit: shuoshu/Getty Images*
Cory Turner | NPR
New rules kick in today that will help aspiring teachers pay for c...
Tips Akses Situs Judi Qq Tanpa Perlu Takut Nawala
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Kegiatan berjudi slot melalui situs judi qq online, sekarang sudah
dilakukan oleh banyak penjudi Indonesia. Tentu, Kamu yang sedang membaca
artikel ini a...
The Threat of Integration
-
I have lived in the same house in the Miracle Mile section of Los Angeles
for over 30 years, where up until now I have had little or no interaction
with th...
We fight for a democracy worthy of us all!
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The nation stands at a crossroads, said NEA President Lily Eskelsen García
in her final keynote address to the 2020 NEA Representative Assembly and
it’s up...
The Passing Of Chaz 1951-2020 Age 69
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I am the son of Chaz and like to inform you that he passed away this
afternoon from the COVID virus. My father passed in peace beside his loved
ones. We ar...
The Fight For Our Children
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*The number of suicides among people ages 10 to 24 nationally increased by
56 percent between 2007 and 2017, according to a new federal report showing
the ...
Read to Self: Just a Kid and a Book.
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Date: Monday, January 5, 2020 Place: My classroom Student: Mrs.Mims, could
we start doing Read to Self again because I got this great book for
Christmas an...
Reminiscences
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I just finished dumping the rest of my lesson plans. I guess I held on to
the calculus ones for so long because I spent so much time working on them
an...
Just Asking for some Teachers I know.
-
Recently Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers stated, We must … recognize that
part of supporting our kids in the classroom means supporting the educators
who t...
Cara Menang Bermain Judi Bola Online
-
Bermain judi bola online tentu saja memiliki kesenangannya tersendiri baik
itu mendapatkan keuntungan maupun ketika menantikan hasil skor pada sebuah
perta...
A Critique of Standards-Based Grading
-
It first happened to me about ten years ago. I was beginning my third year
of teaching in a new school in Washington, DC. Social studies teachers were
si...
My First and Last Visit to Hudson Yards
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Figuring I did not need to invite any more darkness and vulgarity into my
head than that provided on a daily basis from Trump’s White House, and
after read...
Reduced time for testing? Not so fast.
-
NYSED and Commish Elia continue to say that the NYS Assessments are of
reasonable length, I completely disagree.
Here is what NYSED states are average expe...
The World According to Michelle Rhee
-
The men behind the curtain fashioning the brave new world of corporate run
education in America! Michelle Rhee is the founder of StudentsFirst, The
New T...
Whose Opinions Matter in Education World?
-
It's hard to identify education heroes and sheroes. And perhaps even harder
to pinpoint just whose work is slanted, paid-for and dishonest.
Blockchain: Life on the Ledger
-
Originally posted on Wrench in the Gears:
I created this video as a follow up to the one I prepared last year on
Social Impact Bonds. It is time to examine...
New Local Businesses in Sacramento
-
Starting a new local business in Sacramento is a monumental task, but can
be accomplished with footwork, perseverance and knowledge. One must learn
the loc...
Lesson Plan: Rhyme and Rhythm in Poetry
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I’ve started a recent unit on poetry with my class. I’m not a poet, and I’m
not a poetry fan (I don’t hate it, but I’m a prose gal), so this makes it
harde...
The Apotheosis of Betsy DeVos
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Betsy Devos has drawn few headlines in recent months, and that is a good
thing for the Secretary of Education. Her tenure began with Vice President
Mike P...
Education Is a Civic Question
-
In their final post to end Bridging Differences' decade-long run, Deborah
Meier and Harry Boyte urge readers to put the energy, talents, wisdom, and
hard w...
Site News: New Home for Education News & Commentary
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Quick! Get over there! The daily education news roundup and education
commentaries that you're probably looking for are now being published over
at The Gra...
Should We Be Grateful?
-
In an odd turn of events, and with little explanation, Michigan Governor
Rick Snyder has decided to return the state’s School Reform Office back to
the Dep...
An Open Letter to NC Lawmakers
-
An Open Letter to NC State Lawmakers and NC State Superintendent Mark
Johnson: I am a NC native, voter, and public school teacher. I am
addressing you all ...
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My Next Bestseller)
-
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My next bestseller) Prologue I just finished
watching a fascinating documentary on Netflix entitled, “The Secret”. The
film p...
Farewell, Sleep
-
Today is the official last day of my spring break. I've done a scientific
survey: My natural bedtime is 2 AM, and my natural wake up time is 9:41
AM. Tom...
REPORT: States With the Best and Worst Schools
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States With the Best (and Worst)Schools
By *Evan Comen, Michael B. Sauter, Samuel Stebbins and Thomas C. Frohlich*
January 20, 2017- http://247wallst.com
...
Test Refusal = People Power
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In recent months, social media has been ablaze with talk of regular folk
taking action to resist the Trump agenda. Protests are a daily occurrence,
and ev...
Random Musings and Observations. . . .
-
I’ve been gone a while from the blogging scene. Some of my more regular
readers no doubt noticed but did not hassle me about it. Thank you for
that. Sinc...
AB 934: A LEGISLATIVE FIX FOR VERGARA?
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By Michael Stratford | in the Politco Morning Education Report | via email
05/24/2016 10:00 AM EDT :: Two national education groups are backing a
Califor...
MY NEW BLOG
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My new blog will consist of fictitious headlines, meant to be a blend of
humor and satire. I apologize ahead of time if any other satirical site has
simila...
Thank you
-
Dear Readers,
Thank you for visiting *The Perimeter Primate*. This blog is being retired
for the time being. Although I no longer post here, I do still s...
I am Retiring
-
I have some news: I am retiring from the PBS NewsHour and Learning Matters.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other
conte...
New Beginnings: Kickstarter and EdWeek Teacher
-
Greetings to InterACT readers one and all! If you’ve been following posts
here recently you might recall that I’m moving my blogging activity to
other loca...
Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School
-
*“With Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School closing, Newark families must
move on.”* The Star-Ledger (NJ), 6/25/2013
NEWARK — Bobby and Troy Shanks saw the...
Stuck in the Muck: Trapped in Outcome-Based Reforms - The Crucial Voice of the PeopleThe Crucial Voice of the People : Stuck in the Muck: Trapped in Outcome-Based Reforms If President Trump drained the swamp , we would still be stuck in the muck. Still waiting on leaders to fix health care? And how many decades have we listened to talk about fixing the education system? But, did you know that bot
Happy Humpday (and enjoy today’s testing errata)! | okeducationtruths : Happy Humpday (and enjoy today’s testing errata)! It’s April, so let’s all stop what we’re doing and test some kids! That’s why we’re here five days a week, right? Well, five-ish. I know I should be less flippant about standardize testing, but if I were, how would you recognize me? As a state, we spend millions on tests that
CURMUDGUCATION: Rahm's Insane Plan : Rahm's Insane Plan Just a reminder that it's not just Republicans who have insane ideas about education. Rahm Emanuel, for Obamabro and current mayor of at least some parts of Chicago has unleashed this genius idea, as covered by CBS today: “We live in a period of time where you earn what you learn,” Emanuel said. “The school system of K through 12 is not appl
N.Y. education chief under fire over comment on assignment asking students to argue for Nazi extermination of Jews - The Washington Post : N.Y. education chief under fire over comment on assignment asking students to argue for Nazi extermination of Jews The education commissioner of New York State, MaryEllen Elia, is in hot water over a controversy about an assignment given to high school student
Enrollment Preferences Bill Released From Committee But Newark Charter School Exclusion Remains Controversial – Exceptional Delaware 2017 : Enrollment Preferences Bill Released From Committee But Newark Charter School Exclusion Remains Controversial House Substitute 1 for House Bill 85 was released from the Delaware House Education Committee today. There are very serious concerns due to a “compro
Episode 31: The "Choice" is Clear: It's A Backpack Full of Cash! | BustED Pencils : Episode 31: The “Choice” is Clear: It’s A Backpack Full of Cash! Feature Interview : Sarah Mondale and Vera Aronow. Film makers for A Backpack Full of Cash. Blogger/Activist of the Week : Rebel Teacher on the “Business of Choice.” The Schools Our Children Deserve : Jesse “The Walking Man” Turner Matt Damon’s Mom o
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: What I told reporter about CPS' falling suspension rate : What I told reporter about CPS' falling suspension rate "Chicago Public Schools has one of the highest suspension and expulsion rates and the disproportionate use of suspensions." -- Barbara Byrd-Bennett, Feb 7, 2014 This morning, I'm being asked by a reporter to respond to CPS's recently-reported remarkable
In Re: LAUSD’s Solvency ~ “Who Can Even Read That?” – redqueeninla : In Re: LAUSD’s Solvency ~ “Who Can Even Read That?” W ell…. the previous post is not actually all that long or complicated. It’s just boring. Reading about finances is boring. So, it seems the story about LAUSD’s finances and how they’ve been competently managed and LAUSD is NOT going bankrupt will just be bleeped over. Again. Y
Fighting Hate In Schools : NPR Ed : NPR : Fighting Hate In Schools Editor's note: This story contains language that may be offensive to some readers. Hate incidents can happen anywhere: the mall, the church, the office. But, in the wake of the 2016 election, hate's been showing up a lot in school. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, in the months following the election more hate inciden
What protections do student journalists really have? Check your state on this map. - The Washington Post : What protections do student journalists really have? Check your state on this map Student journalists at a high school in southeast Kansas investigating the credentials of their new principal found that they had been falsified — and the principal resigned. Those teenagers were able to do tha
Schott Grantees Convene to Change the Conversation | Schott Foundation for Public Education : Schott Grantees Convene to Change the Conversation One of the pleasures of working at the Schott Foundation for Public Education is that we have the opportunity to work with and learn from our grantee partners who do incredible grassroots organizing work all across the country. These public education adv
SMMUSD'S NEW SUPERINTENDENT- FINALLY RACIAL JUSTICE? - Perdaily.com : SMMUSD'S NEW SUPERINTENDENT- FINALLY RACIAL JUSTICE? On Sunday April 2nd the Committee for Racial Justice in Santa Monica had as their guest speaker Dr. Ben Drati, the relatively new African American superintendent of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD). What Dr. Drati discussed in his presentation was SMMU
Torlakson Honors Sac City USD as Safe Haven - Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education) : State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson Honors Sacramento City Unified for Safe Haven Efforts SACRAMENTO —State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today commended the Sacramento City Unified School District for its leadership in the movement for school districts to declare themselves
Safe Havens - Initiatives & Programs (CA Dept of Education) : Safe Havens Safe Havens are local educational agencies (LEAs), which include school districts, county offices of education, and direct-funded charter schools that have committed themselves to reassuring students, parents and educators that everyone is welcome on school sites, regardless of immigration status. Safe Havens also provide h
Private Practice – Have You Heard : Private Practice I talk to Professor Ken Zeichner about how the push to deregulate teacher preparation fits into our privatized, for-profit times… JenniferBerkshire : You’ve been leading a one-man crusade to expose what you say are false claims being made by the Relay Graduate School of Education and other startup teacher training programs. How’s it going? Ken
Bribing children to take our tests | @mcleod | Dangerously Irrelevant : Bribing children to take our tests It’s standardized testing season again in American schools. And that means it’s also time for many schools to bribe and punish their children into submission because those tests are ones they don’t want to take. Over the past couple of decades, the political stakes attached to standardized t
Trump’s War on Journalism - Los Angeles Times : Trump’s War on Journalism PART I Our Dishonest President PART II Why Trump Lies PART III Trump's Authoritarian Vision PART IV Trump’s War on Journalism In Donald Trump’s America, the mere act of reporting news unflattering to the president is held up as evidence of bias. Journalists are slandered as “enemies of the people.” Facts that contradict Tru
Long Beach Unified accused of underfunding ‘high-needs’ students | EdSource : Long Beach Unified accused of underfunding 'high-needs' students Long Beach Unified failed to account for or misspent $41 million that should have been used to expand and improve services for students receiving extra money under the state’s funding formula, according to a complaint filed Tuesday by the nonprofit law fir
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all : Wondering Wednesday Diane Ravitch's blog A site to discuss better education for all Georg Lind: Our Stupid Standardized Tests by dianeravitch / 31min Georg Lind is a retired psychologist. “As a psychologist I recommend to abandon all tests based on Classical and Modern “test theories.” But I am not sure whether my colleagues at A
2 Education Dept. Picks Raise Fears on Civil Rights Enforcement - The New York Times : 2 Education Dept. Picks Raise Fears on Civil Rights Enforcement WASHINGTON — A lawyer who represented Florida State University in an explosive sexual assault case and another lawyer who during the 2016 presidential campaign accused Hillary Clinton of enabling sexual predators have been chosen for key roles in t
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Option Schools and Larger Class Sizes : Option Schools and Larger Class Sizes Class Size Matters | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes - https://www.classsizematters.org/ I hadn't intended to write about this yet as I am still waiting for some answers from the district but here's what is being said at the Soup for
Education Law Prof Blog : New State Accountability Systems Reveal the Federal Role in Education Has Faded Last year, I wrote that the Every Student Succeeds Act “ESSA reverses the federal role in education and returns nearly full discretion to the states.” I predicted that the flexibility afforded to states in devising their new ESSA accountable schemes would make “educational opportunity a rando
False Claims and Fraud Keep on Surfacing in the Charter School Sector | janresseger : False Claims and Fraud Keep on Surfacing in the Charter School Sector The Trump administration and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos are fans of the marketplace. Privatizing education is their thing. That is why it is so useful to consult some experts—in this case Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson, political scientist
Friday on Hitting Left with the Klonsky Brothers. | Fred Klonsky : Friday on Hitting Left with the Klonsky Brothers. Friday, April 7th, Hitting Left with the Klonsky Brothers will host in-studio guests, Jose Rico, former director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, Matt Blizek, Executive Field Director for MoveOn.Org , & Rudy Garrett, Interim Executive Director
Veteran teacher: The fear that is finally driving me from the classroom - The Washington Post : Veteran teacher: The fear that is finally driving me from the classroom Elizabeth Janeczko is a history educator who has been teaching for 10 years in Washington D.C. (except for one year that she spent in Rwanda). Starting in the same year that school reformer Michelle Rhee became chancellor of D.C. s
The Innovation Infatuation (Chester Finn) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice : The Innovation Infatuation (Chester Finn) Over the past three decades I have admired the clarity of Checker Finn’s writing, the wry sense of humor he injects into his prose, and the willingness to challenge whatever is the mainstream wisdom of the moment. Although I have differed with Finn on key edu
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Work Session on the 2017-2018 Budget : Work Session on the 2017-2018 Budget For this Work Session, all of the directors were present in person except for Director Blanford who was there via phone. The Superintendent was there as were several senior staff members. President Peters did seem to set a good tone for action when she stated, " We are going to have to mak
“Failing Schools” as Far Back as 1735? | deutsch29 : “Failing Schools” as Far Back as 1735? I have temporary access to the newspaper search engine, Newspaperarchive.com . So, I decided to search the term, “failing schools.” The earliest usage of this term dates back to March 02, 1735, in the Dublin Evening Post . The context of the term is financial. The 1735 news excerpt concerns “a Voluntary so
Badass Teachers Association: Decolonizing Through Dialogue: Authentic Teaching in the Age of Testing and Common Core by Steven Singer : Decolonizing Through Dialogue: Authentic Teaching in the Age of Testing and Common Core by Steven Singer Originally posted at: https://gadflyonthewallblog.wordpress.com/2017/04/03/decolonizing-through-dialogue-authentic-teaching-in-the-age-of-testing-and-common-c
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 4/4/17 Featured Post Public-School Students Learn About the Alt-Right - The Atlantic Global Finance Needs Our Schools to Fail – Wrench in the Gears by mike simpson / 6min Global Finance